A new Kindle book, Buy-Sell Agreements for Baby Boomer Business Owners, by Z. Christopher Mercer (Mercer Capital), has triggered a great low-cost promotional idea. On the Amazon listing, a reader says he “ordered over 80 copies of the book to be sent as gifts to clients and business associates.” This facilitates follow-up calls to talk about buy-sell agreements and transition planning.

Valuation angle: A buy-sell agreement—if crafted properly—can function as an important valuation document. If a triggering event occurs, the agreement should contain a valuation mechanism that provides for a value that partners/shareholders/investors agree is reasonable. Sounds simple, but this is not clearly understood—especially among baby boomers.

The new book focuses on valuation and improving the valuation mechanism of new and existing buy-sell agreements, with particular emphasis on the concerns of baby boomers. You’ll get an overview of what buy-sell agreements are supposed to do and how they should work. Mercer, a business appraiser and businessman, also gives his recommendation for the type of buy-sell agreement pricing mechanism that he believes is best for most successful closely held businesses. As a bonus, readers of this book have free access to Mercer's Buy-Sell Agreement Review Checklist and the Shareholder Promissory Note Checklist.

At a low introductory price of $2.99 (soon to be $9.99), this book is perfect for your business-owner clients as well as attorneys.

Free marketing tools: To help you develop business in this area, the Mercer Capital website has put together a marketing program you can use, including sample emails that can be used as is or adapted to suit your own needs.